Influence
by WallofIllusion
Summary: Mai offers Jonouchi some beer, which gets him thinking and eventually talking about his dad's alcoholism.


**Influence**

The only lights in the room were the flash of strobes and the glitzy reflections from a disco ball. People danced or conversed with their friends, shouting to be heard over the pound of the too-loud dance music.

Katsuya Jonouchi stood away from it all, leaning on a wall with a half-smile on his face. He took a deep breath, letting in the feel of the party atmosphere that he enjoyed so much.

But then he winced. A bitter, all-too-familiar scent had reached his nostrils. Alcohol. Its sudden appearance was familiar, too. It was like coming home after school…

"_WHERE YOU BEEN ALL DAY, YOU !#$ BRAT?!!"_

"_I've been at school, Dad."_

"_OH YEAH? YOU SURE YOU AIN'T BEEN OUT AT SOME CLUB OR SOMETHING?!"_

"_Yeah, I'm sure, Dad." A sigh. "I'm gonna make myself some dinner now."_

"_You do that. Make me some too, will ya?"_

_There was always a pause here. But then Jonouchi would say, "Yeah, I'll make somethin' for you. What do you want?"_

"_I dunno. Whatever you're having and a beer…"_

Jonouchi shook his head. He didn't need to think about that, not when he was here. This was a party; he was supposed to enjoy himself. Mai hadn't invited him so he could lean on a wall, and she certainly hadn't invited him so he could remember things which he had no desire to remember.

So for the moment, he tried to ignore the acrid smell of beer and walked towards the center where everyone else was. _Where did Mai go, anyway?_ he wondered. _She was with me a minute ago, but…_

Then he spotted Mai's trademark blonde curls on one side of the crowd. He headed for her, dodging through groups of people as he went.

"Hey, Jonouchi!" she shouted as he reached her. Jonouchi grinned, but his grin faded somewhat as he saw that Mai held two bottles of beer in her hand, one opened. _It's okay,_ he tried to tell himself. _She's twenty-four and she's at a party. Of course she's gonna drink._

"How are you liking the party?" Mai in asked a shout.

"It's great!" Jonouchi yelled back. "Wanna get out of the crowd a little?"

Mai nodded and followed Jonouchi to where he'd been standing before. Leaning on the wall, she took a swig from the open beer bottle and then offered the other to Jonouchi. "Beer?" she suggested.

"No thanks," Jonouchi said, falsely casual. "I don't drink."

"Really?" Mai looked bemused. "I never thought _you'd_ worry about being underage."

Jonouchi shrugged. "It's not that."

But Mai would accept such a simple answer. "What is it, then?"

Jonouchi didn't answer for a second. Mai had gotten very close to him. She had put her arm around his shoulder and her face was only inches from his. He could smell the beer on her breath.

"C'mon, Katsuya-kuuuuun," she crooned, taking another sip. "Why don't you want a drink?"

He tried to push her away from him. "I don't like what it does to people," he said tensely.

"Awwwwwww," she whined, faking a pout. "Don't you like me when I'm like this?"

"No, I don't," Jonouchi said coldly. He could see in Mai's eyes that she was joking, but nevertheless, he pulled himself away from her with a revolted scowl on his face. "It's stupid and disgusting." He started to stalk away.

"Wha… Jonouchi?" Mai called after him, sounding alarmed.

"I'm going outside for some fresh air!" he replied shortly. _Fresh air, away from the smell of beer._

He pushed open the door to the balcony and walked out. The sudden burst of cold air alerted him to just how crowded and hot it was inside, making him very glad he had his jean jacket on. He pulled the collar of the jacket up as he leaned on the balcony rail and looked over the city.

In a moment, he sighed. _I shouldn't have gotten so worked up._ Mai had every right to drink. She shouldn't have offered Jonouchi one, but like she'd said, that wouldn't have stopped him, if things had been… different.

If his dad had been different…

Jonouchi heard the door open behind him and turned. It was Mai, looking anxious. She had gotten rid of her beer.

"Jonouchi…?" she said hesitantly as she walked toward him.

Jonouchi looked away, a slight scowl on his face.

Mai reached the balcony and leaned on it too. "I'm sorry about that," she said quietly. "I wasn't… It was supposed to be a joke. I wasn't really thinking."

Shaking his head, Jonouchi replied, "Nah, it's not your fault. It's just…" He paused. "I don't drink… 'cause of my dad."

"Your dad?" Mai repeated questioningly.

"He… drinks a lot," Jonouchi explained, lifting his gaze from the city to the faint stars above it. "It's kinda… caused my family… a lot of problems."

"Oh," said Mai in a rather small voice. "Is… is that why…?"

"Yeah," he answered, knowing what she was going to ask. "That's why my parents are divorced." He hesitated. "…He used to hit my mom. She… she ignored it for a while, because she didn't wanna bother Shizuka and me by splitting up the family." Again, he hesitated, longer this time.

"What changed?" Mai prompted softly.

Jonouchi closed his eyes. "One day he hit me," he said in a voice that was strangely quiet. Beside him, Mai gasped, but he continued, "Mom decided she didn't want me or Shizuka in that kind of home, so she wanted to divorce Dad and take us both with her. But… I got so angry at her for that. I thought that she should have kept trying with Dad, shouldn't have given up. I didn't want to give up, so I decided to stay with him."

"…Katsuya…"

Almost unwillingly, Jonouchi opened his eyes and glanced at Mai's expression. She was looking at him with the deepest sympathy. For some reason, that made Jonouchi feel ashamed, and he snapped his head away and muttered, "Look, it's no big deal, okay? I just don't want to be like that, so I don't drink. End of story." He glared down at the city, awkward and angry that he was awkward, wishing Mai would leave.

But she didn't. Instead, she put her arm around him again, this time tenderly, and squeezed his shoulders. In some part of his mind, Jonouchi realized that this should make him even more uncomfortable, but the opposite was true. It relaxed him. He put his own arm around Mai's waist and gave her a wan smile.

"You're really brave, Katsuya," Mai told him. "For staying with your dad and wanting to help him."

Jonouchi shrugged. "It hasn't done anything," he answered, trying to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "He still drinks and gambles and everything."

"But you still stay with him," Mai pointed out.

"Well, yeah, of course I do," Jonouchi said. "He's my dad, isn't he?"

He could just barely see Mai's smile in the darkness. "Yeah."

There was no need to talk any more. The two turned their gazes forward, looking out over the city. They stood there for a long time, together.


End file.
